


Things are hard, but you make them easier

by epsilonfive



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Freeform, Laundry, M/M, Making Out, Phanfiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-20
Updated: 2017-09-24
Packaged: 2018-12-31 19:55:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12139929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/epsilonfive/pseuds/epsilonfive
Summary: Dan's had a day. Phil helps.





	1. i

**Author's Note:**

> literally i just typed this out without too much editing or thinking about it; i was inspired by dan's livestream where he went into more detail about him going to phil's place to do laundry aaaaah
> 
> i might do a second part, we will see :)

Dan feels a bit ridiculous as he carts a suitcase along the street, making a beeline for Phil's front door and trying not to slither to the ground like one of those stubborn soufflés that crumple despite your best efforts to keep it light and fluffy. He thinks about what he's going to say as he goes, coming up with one excuse after the other as to why he would be dragging his laundry to his best friend's house when there was a perfectly functional laundromat, shooting them all down until he finds himself on the doorstep.

His hand remains raised, ready to tilt forward and knock to alert Phil of his presence, but he hesitates. Despite the fact that he and Phil are close, and Phil is about the nicest person Dan has ever met, and every other time Dan's needed a hand Phil's been all too happy to help, he can't help a niggling feeling in the back of his head trying to convince him that he's a burden. That he's pushing the boundaries of what is and is not acceptable. Phil provides a comfort and contentment that no one else does, but he's not quite been able to banish the insecurities buried within Dan's mind, which, coupled with his anxiety, is about as helpful as the bare bones of an umbrella in the rain.

It's late, too. He should leave.

He turns to go, whacking the door with the suitcase in the process and making it sound like someone is trying to bust the door in with a forceful kick. Cursing, he struggles to pull it away to leave as quickly as possible, but of course fate is against him, the bulk of the case getting stuck between his leg and the door. The door opens then, and Dan almost tumbles backwards into the road again, gripping the case for dear life which thankfully doesn't give so he manages to stay somewhat upright.

"Uh, hey," He says awkwardly, giving Phil a weird sort of salute thing and immediately regretting it. Phil looks cute; hair ruffled, glasses skewed. It seems he'd still been awake, despite the fact that it must be at least past midnight about now. "So uh, might've destroyed the bottom of your door. Hope you weren't friends or anything."

Phil's been looking at Dan with his head slightly tilted, eyes snapping from Dan's tired face to his bloodshot eyes, to the case and down to the door, which seemingly seems to still be in tact. Then, he smiles.

"Actually we were in a fight, so you just made him suffer like he's made me suffer," Phil says, half putting on a dramatic voice before becoming serious. "Are you okay? Did you drop out? Are you moving in?"

Dan's stomach twists as his anxiety peaks and he fumbles for the words.

"It's just... been a day," He decides on finally. "And I'm going to wash my socks in your washing machine."

Phil blinks at him for a moment before wordlessly moving aside and opening the door further so Dan can drag his suitcase inside. He tries to be quiet, giving his back and legs more strain than is needed as he pulls in both his stuff and his body. He fails at that, so in an attempt to make up for it, closes the door.

It slams, the wind betraying him. He winces and gives Phil an apologetic look, but Phil seems to be nothing short of amused, ushering Dan in the direction of the much needed laundry room slash kitchen. Once there, Dan unzips his suitcase and wrinkles his nose, presenting what appears to be an almost empty case given how many black and dark clothes are in it. Phil makes some witty remark and Dan snorts, hunkering down and grabbing fistfuls of his laundry to stuff in the washing machine.

"You know, you should separate the whites and the darks," Phil suggests from the seat he's taken on the counter as Dan completely ignores the colours of his clothes and chucks bunches of them in.

"Does it look like I have anything white in this mess?" Dan snaps, and Phil looks to the floor. "Look," He continues, sighing and straightening up. "I'm sorry. It's just... been hard. I didn't mean to take it out on you. Okay?"

"Okay," Phil says quietly, looking up and meeting Dan's eyes, his own looking quite sad. "Are you sure you're okay? You can tell me if something's up,"

"Yeah," Dan lies, closing the washer door and automatically reaching into the nearby cupboard for some fabric softener. Once he's picked the correct settings he backs up to the opposite counter, leaning against it and letting his head fall back in relief. It felt like a weight was lifted off him, even if it was just a suitcase of dirty clothes. He realises after a moment that Phil's looking at him, and that he hasn't really given a proper response. "I'm okay. Just... things are hard." He says again lamely, earning a nod from Phil.

"Yeah, uni can be a lot to get used to. I remember when I went, I didn't know what was where and I didn't want to ask anyone what to do because I felt dumb," He says, swinging his legs a little.

"But you managed it," Dan replies after a couple of moments, looking at the floor. "You finished, and you got your degree and managed to keep up with videos and stuff,"

"So wait," Phil says gently, eyes still fixed on Dan. "You did drop out? Cause if you did you know you're welcome here. Our back up plan is still a thing, you know, you living here. With me. And it's nothing to feel bad about,"

"You say that," Dan sighs, finally looking up to meet Phil's gaze. "But you did it. Why can't I?"

"People are different, Dan," Phil shrugs his shoulders ever so slightly. "Some people finish uni and some don't. I know people who didn't even finish sixth form, and it doesn't stop them being a good person. You're a good person, whether you finish uni or not."

Dan smiles; he can't help it. Phil truly is a lovely guy and knows exactly what to say to stop Dan feeling like utter crap.

"I didn't drop out, Phil. Not yet anyway. It isn't exactly fun. If you were there maybe I could do it, but..."

"You do know you can text me, right? Any time?" Phil says with a twist of the side of his mouth. "You can call, we can skype. If you wanted, I could be there with you all the time. I mean apart from classes and sleeping and stuff. I won't be creepy and watch you sleep,"

"You have stuff to do," Dan says, biting the inside of his cheek as his feeling of being a burden rises up like a lump in his throat. "I don't wanna be annoying."

"I always want to talk to you, you absolute coffee-stained mug," Phil says with a tut, rolling his eyes. "You could never be annoying by just wanting to talk. Hey, it's like what, one in the morning? And I'm letting you use my washing machine for free. I think that should kind of say something, don't you?"

"Yeah," Dan says, pushing himself off the counter and making his way towards Phil.

"What?" Phil says, face clearly reddening. His tongue darts out to wet his lips and he swallows.

"Why are you so good to me?"

"It's just a load of laundry," Phil sputters, wanting to look away but being unable to tear his gaze away from Dan's. "And I love you. I want to help you. You deserve to be happy and if uni is making that hard for you then I want to try and do whatever I can to make it better. Even if it means dealing with your dirty socks."

Phil barely has time to grin and do some sort of terrible wink before Dan's lips are pressed to his and they're kissing, Phil still sitting on the counter with his legs either side of Dan's waist. "Thanks," Dan murmurs when they break apart, voice a little husky like it goes sometimes when he and Phil make out. "Thanks so much. For... basically everything. _Literally_ everything." 

Phil grins, Dan's little quirk coming through and sending a warm sense of familiarity from Phil's throat down to the pit of his stomach.

"Anything you need, just ask," Phil breathes, his chest swelling a little. "Any time."

Dan leans in further, bumping their foreheads together as Phil's fingers, which have been resting on Dan's waist, curl a little into the fabric of his shirt. They stay there for a while, the churn of the washing machine running quietly in the background.

After a few moments, Dan pulls away, but not before pressing a kiss to Phil's glabella, to which Phil throws him finger guns before sliding off the counter.

"How long til it's done?" Dan asks to the air, stretching slightly as he feels some of the stress and sadness fall away from him.

"Like forty five minutes," Phil says, glancing at the timer on the washing machine. "And then it's about an hour and a half in the dryer."

"Boo,"

"How mean, you don't want an excuse to spend time with me," Phil says, acting wounded and clutching his chest. "And I was thinking we could go to my room and pretend to watch anime when really we're making out and doing hand stuff,"

"'Hand stuff?'" Dan repeats, torn between embarrassment and amusement. 

"You know what I mean," Phil says with a huff, hitting Dan's arm lightly. "So, anime? Or movie?"

"Either," Dan says with a soft smile, feeling much more tired now that his anxiety has calmed down some and he knows Phil isn't irritated. "As long as I'm here with you."


	2. ii

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "If you stopped talking all together and just did that all the time I don't think I'd mind much. In fact I think that'd be pretty good,"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaaaa ok y'all so a couple of you said that you'd be good with another part and i felt inspired to do it so... here's another chapter!! ....i might do a 3rd as well, but i have quite limited ideas so if you have any suggestions/ideas hit me up either in the comments or drop it in my tumblr ask which is @marshmallowphxn :') hope you like this part as well everyone!

Dan wakes to a hand in his boxers that isn't his own.

The shirt he's got on isn't his own either.

Grumbling slightly, he reaches to rub his eyes, but finds the arm trapped, so uses the free fingers to try to wipe the sleep from his eyes. Once he can see slightly better, his eyes flick down to find himself in a half buttoned plaid shirt, clearly Phil's. He drags his tired eyes after a moment to what's crushing his arm against the mattress and sees Phil snoring softly. A smile breaks out on Dan's face, a genuine one which is kind of rare for him, and he's tempted to mess with Phil to see what he can do before he wakes up. Before he does he notices a mark on Phil's lip and out of the corner of his eyes, a darker patch. His gaze flicks to it to see a hickey on Phil's pale skin just above his collarbone, standing out like a neon light, and a small sense of triumph settles in his stomach.

It's now that he realises he should probably get Phil's hand out of his boxers, which isn't even holding anything, just curled within the fabric as though it's comfortable, which Dan is sure it isn't. They must've fallen pretty soon after they'd fooled around, obviously tired from the combination of the afterglow and the late night. There's no laptop in immediate sight; proving that Dan's memory wasn't a dream -- they'd literally just tumbled into bed and fallen asleep some time later. It's only now that it hits him they never took his washing out and put it in the dryer. He finds himself surprisingly okay with that. Surely he has some time before a class or two, doesn't matter if he misses one.

"Phil," He says gently, free hand giving Phil's shoulder the gentlest shake. "Wake up! I need to pee,"

Phil opens his eyes blearily then closes them again, lips twitching and Dan can't resist leaning in to kiss him. When Dan pulls away, Phil is smiling, and Dan knows he's awake now. He rolls his eyes and sighs, shuffling his body to jostle Phil, who whines loudly.

"Noooo," Phil tries to turn but Dan's free arm comes down to trap him. "Argh! Release me!"

"Never!"

After about a minute of a mix of wrestling, kissing, biting, licking and giggling, they each have their hands to themselves and Dan is able to get up and pad wearily to the bathroom. Yawning, he returns to Phil with his eyes closed again.

"Phil!" He chides, hands rising and falling to his sides in exasperation, but Phil is smiling again, and Dan knows he's playing. "I want to stay in bed as much as the next guy but I have to at least try to go to  _one_ class this entire year,"

"What time is it?"

"I dunno," Dan says casually, hunting around the room for his phone and finding it in the pocket of his discarded jeans. He glances at it and his eyes widen. It's two in the afternoon. "Oh,"

"What?"

"I'm such a spoon, it's already two," He forces a fake chuckle. "Guess I can just stay in bed anyways,"

"Dan--" Phil begins, trying to think of something to say before Dan chucks his phone onto the black puddle that is his jeans before walking over and sliding back into bed next to Phil. "Are you sure that--"

"Kiss me," Dan says in a soft voice, and there's no way Phil can never deny Dan something like that. 

"Okay," 

Dan feels strangely stilted in his kisses, and he seems to need to pull away more than normal for breath. Phil keeps trying to ask if he's okay but Dan just shuffles closer and pulls him in for more. 

There's a strange sensation on Phil's skin that the air hits and chills as Dan angles his head away for oxygen, and either Dan's just slobbered all over Phil, or--

"Dan? Are you--"

Dan immediately turns around as he realises he's been discovered, startling Phil a little and curling up. Phil knows Dan well enough not to try to get him to turn back around, so he settles with inching forward and slinging an arm round him, which thankfully Dan doesn't shake off.

"Haven't we gotten past the 'hiding that you're crying' stage yet?" He says warmly, in attempt to lighten the air somewhat, his forehead against Dan's hot, trembling back. "What is it?"

Dan doesn't respond for a while, Phil settling with dragging his hand gently up to Dan's side and rubbing it comfortingly.

"I can't do anything," Dan says in a small voice after a moment, trying to hide his snuffling. "I can't even get laundry done then go to a fucking class. I--"

"Dan," Phil cuts him off. "It's one day. I missed tonnes of classes, you haven't failed by missing one,"

"It's not just one," Dan says in a tinier voice. "I've only been to like, two, in all this time. I dunno what to do, where to go. I don't wanna talk to anyone, I can't cook and I have to steal your washing machine to do my laundry cause the people at uni were... really creepy,"

"I was the same, I promise you, and there are lots of other people in the same boat,"

"I just want to be with you,"

Phil's chest constricts, and he dearly wishes he could just tell Dan that he can be; he can just stay with Phil and Phil will take care of him and love him and make him happy, but Phil also knows Dan. He knows Dan wants to make his way, wants to prove himself, wants to show that he can be smart and strong too.

"I want that too," He starts, turning his head this way and that slightly to nuzzle against Dan's back.

"Then can I just stay here with you? Can we do the back up plan?"

"You know I'd love that. I'd never get sick of you, even when you're always using bad language,  _Daniel,_ " Phil punctuates Dan's full name with a gentle poke to the stomach, earning the first real chuckle from Dan in a while. "But I also know how angry you'd be at yourself if you just gave up already without trying harder,"

There's a silence, but thankfully it it's a lot less heavy than before. Dan stops snuffling.

"Alright," Dan says finally, in a quiet, yet less shaky voice. "As long as I can break into your house whenever I want,"

"Deal," Phil snorts, moving back a little so Dan has space to turn over. "Better?"

"Yeah," Dan says with a smile, leaning in and kissing Phil, the slightly rough feeling of dried tears on their skin. "Thanks. You helped me. Again,"

"It was nothing," Phil's face heats up a little at how intensely Dan is looking into his eyes. "You don't deserve to ever feel bad. If I can help you, I will. You don't know how special you are,"

Dan opens his mouth to say something, but it seems he can't find words, so he leans in to kiss Phil again. 

"If you stopped talking all together and just did that all the time I don't think I'd mind much. In fact I think that'd be pretty good,"

Dan smacks Phil's arm lightly with an eye roll and a "shut up", feeling his eyelids start to droop a little. He's getting tired again, the crying and internal stress wearing him out, but he knows he shouldn't sleep. Groaning, he gets up, earning a similar sound of protest from Phil who makes grabbing motions with his hands, and Dan smiles enough to bring out the dimple in full force. He fishes for his phone again and finds it to be just gone four. His mouth twists, unsure what to do next. He should make sure to get back to his dorm room before it gets too late so he doesn't disturb everyone, but he also doesn't want to think about leaving Phil's house, or Phil in general for that matter.

"I should actually dry my shit," He says suddenly, stretching, earning a frown from Phil which he can see from the corner of his eyes. "My  _clothes_ ," He corrects with a smirk, Phil nodding in acceptance and making Dan snort so much he has to wipe his nose.

"That is so nasty!" Phil exclaims, making a disgusted face and rolling onto his front to prop himself up by the elbows. "I might have to reconsider ever kissing you again,"

"Oh really?" Dan says in a mock seductive voice, turning and shaking his rear a little. "You really want to miss out on groping  _this_ hot stuff?"

Phil half laughs, half hisses in that way he does sometimes, and Dan feels affection swell in his chest. "Who says I grope your butt?"

"Me," Dan says with a wink. "Don't think I don't feel you grabbing my ass when we make out,"

Phil immediately looks down, dark hair curtaining his face and hiding his eyes in embarrassment. When he looks up again, Dan is next to the bed, leaning over him. "I like it,"

After a moment Phil scrambled to stand on the bed before leaping at Dan who yelps in surprise, tackling him to the ground and showering his face and neck with kisses.

"Okay, okay," Dan says finally through giggles, squirming and kicking slightly when Phil's lips brush against his sensitive neck. "I think you broke the butt you love so much,"

After about ten seconds of trying to untangle their tangled limbs, they make their way downstairs, Dan smacking Phil's behind and drawing a squeak of surprise out of the latter. The light on the washing machine is on, indicating the load has finished, and Dan opens the door to reach inside and grab the mess of dark clothes inside. Phil considers asking if he can help, but in the end knows better not to. He knows Dan wants to be able to at least handle this himself.

Within moments Dan's stuffed all the laundry into the dryer and set it to work. It reads that it will take about an hour. He yawns again then looks at Phil, who has somehow gotten a cereal box and begun to eat its contents by the handful without Dan noticing. 

"How the hell did you do that?" Dan asks, honestly impressed. "You're like a ninja or something,"

"That's because I am one!" Phil announces, placing the box back on the side and putting his hands up in some sort of half baked karate pose. "A cereal ninja!" He makes a generic high pitched sound and Dan tries to give him a withering look but instead ends up laughing.

"Well cereal ninja, now what do we do? Tell me with your wisdom, O Great One,"

"We could go back to bed," Phil suggests, and Dan raises his eyebrows. 

"Forward aren't we?"

"Oh Daniel, won't you please accompany to the boudoir so we can have relations of a sexual nature on my bed, the pillows so carefully placed--"

"I'm going to stop you right there," Dan says seriously, reaching out and putting a hand on Phil's shoulder and giving him a pointed look. "Before you do any more damage,"

Phil laughs and shakes his fringe out of his eyes. "That was a bit too formal, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, 'let's fuck' would've been fine," Dan says innocently, smiling as Phil presses his lips together and pushes them out, running his tongue over them. He seems to be a bit too... distracted to be embarrassed now.

"Get in my bed," He basically purrs, leaning in and kissing Dan, hands running all over his back possessively, and, as Dan had mentioned before grabbing a nice handful of Dan's rear in the process.

"Okay," Dan replies, his voice a little scratchy from lust. "We have to make use of the time we have, don't we?"


	3. iii

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You do realise you have to wash them now, right? Since you're so well trained in laundry,"
> 
> "Oh that'll happen... in a thousand years!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is honestly taking off more than i expected omg.... i fleshed this chapter out a little with smut even though i tried not to. ah well
> 
> i'm leaving the chapters on ? because i kind of have an idea of how to continue further, but i'm not 100% sure since i like the way this chapter ends. we'll see! hope you all enjoy :)

Phil's fingers digging into the small of Dan's back, Dan's own tangled in Phil's dark hair, pulling ever so slightly to small moans that vibrate around Dan and cause him to moan in turn.

They've moved to the edge of the bed, the middle of it sporting a large cherry scented stain while the shirt of Phil's Dan was wearing lies in a heap on the floor. 

Dan's quite vocal, much the enjoyment of Phil, who hums around him and bobs his head just that little bit faster to make Dan cry out and tighten his grip on Phil's hair. Every so often Phil stops both his mouth and his fingers, which have been carefully working Dan's insides and searching to brush against that spot that makes Dan almost hiccup with how good it feels, much to Dan's chagrin.

They both know it only makes it all better, but it doesn't stop Dan being impatient, hips rolling up and then pressing down to encourage Phil to go fast again.

"Phil," He groans in both pleasure and agony. "C'mon... I want it so deep I'll be able to  _taste_ the cherry,"

"Wh--? Oh," Phil says as he pulls his mouth off of Dan to speak, lips still pressed to the head lightly so Dan can feel them moving. "You are so filthy,"

"Only cause it's the o- _oh!_ " Dan gets cut off by Phil jabbing his fingers inside him and hitting just a little distance away from that spot, making Dan basically arch off the bed in frustration. "Y-yuh-you did that on purpose you fucker," Dan stutters, trying to sound annoyed but his voice comes out breathy and desperate. 

"Language, Dan. You need to be more polite to get the things you want out of life,"

"Now who's being nasty? Acting all controlling and shit," Dan hisses, trying to maneuver himself so that he can fuck himself on Phil's fingers. If Phil isn't prepared to do the work, he is. "Please Phil. Please, please,  _please,_ " Dan begs, half automatically, half on purpose, some distant part of his brain knowing Phil can't resist it when he begs.

As he suspected, Phil groans. "Okay," Then; "You're so pretty, Dan,"

Dan doesn't have time to respond as Phil leans in again and rolls his fingers up and inwards, drawing a gasp out of Dan as he feels the familiar tug in his lower stomach that indicates he's close. Through pleasure-hazed eyes, Dan looks to his side to find Phil, strained against his boxers and rutting against them slightly to gain any sort of friction. Their position is strange; they had attempted a sixty-nine and absolutely failed at that, so they're sort of balanced precariously at the edge of the bed to avoid the aforementioned stain in the middle of it which was caused by their inability to control their crazy long limbs, Phil's arms busy with Dan's lower half and his own by Dan's head. It's sort of messy, but it works.

Dan's shaking hand reaches out and dips under the waistband of Phil's boxers, the buttons impossible to fiddle with right now, and grabs hold, pumping in a close-ish rhythm to Phil's mouth, earning a jolt of surprise and a hum that sends another soft vibration through Dan once again. 

Phil appears to be more turned on than Dan would've expected because he actually comes before Dan does, hips juddering and fingers stuttering inside Dan, and he has to pull his mouth off for a moment to catch his breath. A few moments after Phil's attempts to recover, he wants Dan to join him soon in the afterglow, so he tries his best to time his movements and scrape along the roof of Dan's insides the way he likes. It's enough to send Dan over the edge shortly after, painting his stomach and chest in drops and stripes and he tenses, almost lifting clean off the bed before collapsing back down, panting hard and blinking back the spots in his vision.

"Dan," Phil murmurs after a while, head resting on Dan's thigh. "You ruined my pants,"

Dan can't muster the strength to even roll his eyes.

"Worth it though, wasn't it mate?"

Phil huffs a laugh and lazily smacks Dan's stomach before tracing gentle circles on it with the tip of his finger. "You do realise you have to wash them now, right? Since you're so well trained in laundry,"

"Oh that'll happen... in a thousand years!" Dan says with a snort, shoving Phil and snapping from amusement to dread as Phil immediately proceeds to fall off the bed. "Shit! Are you okay?!" He scrambles to his hands and knees and looks over Phil who's silent on the floor, arm over his eyes. 

Dan's legs twitch as he makes to move and check on Phil before Phil suddenly lets out a cartoonish roar and makes claw hands, causing Dan to jump and almost fall off the bed himself. He gives Phil a withering look before reaching behind him, grabbing a pillow and chucking it at Phil's head.

"Pillow abuse! Pabuse!" Phil shrieks, arms flying up to defend himself. He pushes the pillow down to his chest and laughs, tongue pressed between his teeth in that way that makes Dan's stomach flip and he forgets to be mad. "Seriously though, I need a shower. And I think you do too," Phil adds, eyes darting to Dan's exposed crotch and wiggling his eyebrows, to which Dan flushes and hastens to stumble out of bed with about the grace of a dizzy bat. He snatches the pillow away from Phil and holds it to cover himself whilst giving Phil a look of exasperation, but it's affectionate. Phil blinks up at him, and his cheeks redden slightly for some reason, before he sits up and stands, stumbling a little and making Dan reach out worriedly and take his arm.

"Gotcha," Phil says with mischievous eyes, seemingly perfectly fine, and Dan groans.

"You are the absolute worst. Will you ever stop fucking with me?"

"In what way?"

"Ugh! Just get in the shower you awful human!"

* * *

 

Dan's taking extra long folding his dried clothes and putting them back in the suitcase, the fruity smell of Phil's shampoo filling his nose along with the freshness of the laundry. He's trying desperately to ignore the heavy weight in his chest, but it's difficult when he remembers he has to go back to, basically, his jail cell of a room at uni. 

And Phil won't be with him.

"It's just gone seven," Phil says gently, reminding Dan that he should've left about an hour ago.

"I know," Dan sighs and zips up the suitcase, getting to his feet and looking at Phil in a way that spoke that he misses him, even though he's right there. "I don't want to go,"

"I don't want you to go either," Phil says in a small voice, chewing his lip. "Will you be okay? You can just... stay the night again and go back in the morning?"

"No... you're right," Dan reaches down and moves the suitcase so it's standing, ready to be wheeled away. He's going to leave. He's not going to let himself not leave. "I should... try. And if I don't go back I don't think I ever will,"

"Okay," Phil says quietly before letting out a sudden gasp and clasping hands to his mouth, making Dan jump. "Oh!"

"What?!" Dan exclaims, not annoyed, just perplexed.

"I have an idea," 

Dan opens his mouth before Phil turns tail and scampers off, leaving a dumbfounded Dan standing awkwardly in the kitchen slash laundry room. He's just started to wonder if he should follow Phil to make sure he hasn't broken his neck tripping on something by how fast he'd darted away before Phil's returning, clutching Lion in his hands.

When he reaches Dan, he holds Lion out to him.

"Take Lion with you,"

Dan's gaze fell to Lion, then up to Phil's, then back down to the plush toy again. Then, after a moment; "What?"

"Take Lion to uni. That way... I'll kind of be going back with you,"

"I can't," Dan breathes, a gesture seemingly small to a stranger, but huge to Dan. "I can't take _t_ _he_ Lionaway from you!"

"Dan," Phil says, rolling his eyes. "I let you put basically his whole face in your mouth. Which he's still traumatised from, by the way! You can make it up to him at uni!" Phil presses Lion to Dan's chest. "Please. Take him,"

"I don't know what to say," Dan mumbles, feeling a great swell in his chest as he gently takes Lion from Phil's hand, their fingertips brushing.

"Say you'll take him!"

"I... I'll take him," Dan says as he draws Lion in to his chest, pressing his face into the fur and smelling nothing but Phil's room, Phil's things, _everything_   _Phil._ "But I'll bring him with me every time I visit you, okay? So you don't miss him,"

"Deal," Phil smiles, pleased that Dan's agreed to take Lion with him. 

"I love you,"

"I love you too,"

"Not as much as I do,"

"Trust me," Phil purrs, moving forward and carefully pressing his lips to Dan's sensitive neck, just below his ear, causing Dan's breath to hitch. "You don't know just how much I love you,"

"C-careful," Dan tries to laugh but it comes out as a sort of huff. "Starting to sound like a bit of a serial killer,"

"Oh really? Who was the one who stalked me until I became their friend? Who's Phil trash number one?"

"True," Dan says, smiling as he turns his face to kiss Phil softly before pulling back and thoroughly enjoying the dreamy look that's spread across Phil's face. "Now you're stuck with me,"

"Good,"

More kissing, Lion pressed uncomfortably between their chests and probably feeling like an awkward third wheel as Dan nibbles Phil's bottom lip, earning a small sound and grinning against Phil's lips.

At some point each of them move apart, both of them considerably more bruised on the neck than before, though strategically placed so their hair can cover them.

Mostly. 

"I should go," Dan whispers, their foreheads pressed together as they pant softly to catch their breath.

"Yeah," Phil agrees, nodding slightly before kissing Dan again, and it takes all of Dan's strength to press lightly on Phil's shoulder.

"We literally just shagged like, what, an hour or so ago?"

"And?"

"My nuts need a break, and I'm sure yours do too,"

Phil tuts and smacks Dan on the shoulder, and forces himself to move back, away out of Dan's space, which both of them are definitely not appreciating right now.

"Right, off I go," Dan says firmly, taking hold of his suitcase with one hand and holding Lion protectively close to him with the other. Once he steps outside he realises he has to actually call a cab first. "Uh,"

"You didn't call the cab did you?"

"Uhhh,"

Phil sighs and gives Dan an affectionately exasperated look before disappearing again and returning after a moment with his own phone, calling a cab and nodding at Dan to indicate there was one on the way.

Some time later they're sitting on the doorstep waiting, pressed together from shoulders to ankles and even though Dan's starting to get a numb ass, he's savouring every moment he gets to be physically close to Phil until he has to leave. He looks up to see the stars, feeling a contentment in his stomach spreading through him to his very fingertips, and he wants to take a hold of Phil's hand or kiss him under the stars or some cheesy shit, but he doesn't have the time, because the sound of a car is getting closer until it pulls up in front of them, and it's unfortunately the cab Phil had called for.

They stand, hugging and breathing each other in one last time before they part. Phil reaches into his pocket, pulls out his wallet and fishes out a tenner, taking Dan's hand and pressing it into it, ignoring Dan's protests.

"Uni is expensive. I want you to live on a bit more than just ramen," 

"I can just come to yours for food,"

"Don't push it," Phil says with a voice filled with mirth, putting a hand on the small of Dan's back and ushering him towards the cab. "Kidding. Come over whenever. But still, be careful with your money,"

"Yeah alright,  _dad,_ " Dan says with an eye roll, suppressing a laugh as Phil chokes on some spit going down the wrong pipe.

In what feels like less than a second Dan's all packed up in the back with his suitcase and Lion resting on his lap, Phil looking cute as he stands in front of the doorway, one arm holding the other. Dan feels an irrational tug in his chest as the taxi starts to pull away, turning to watch Phil out the back window and waving. Phil returns the gesture, and then the car turns and Dan can't see him anymore, so he turns back to slump down into the seat, pulling the seat belt across him that he'd forgotten to in saying goodbye.

A few moments pass of him watching the street lights pass before he feels his phone vibrate, and he pulls it out to see a text from Phil.

P: _Take care of Lion! I'll know if he's being mistreated! xD_

D: _dont worry. i will ^_^_

P: _< 3_

D: _< 3_


End file.
